Garfield Super Block Announces Design Plans for Renovation Project
After years of work, the Garfield Super Block Coalition is thrilled to be able to share the most current design for the Super Block with the community!
What is the Garfield Super Block Project?
Garfield Super Block is a campus located in the heart of Seattle’s Central District containing Garfield High School, Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center, Garfield Teen Life Center, Medgar Evers Pool, Garfield Community Center, as well as the ballfields, tennis courts, and a playground. Adjacent to GSB is Nova High School, whose students frequently use the park.
The goal of the Garfield Super Block - Park and Promenade Renovation Project is to confirm and implement the unfinished renovation work of the 2005 Garfield Superblock Master Plan. This was a planning effort funded by the adjacent Garfield School renovation (completed in 2008). The Project design addresses the two following recommendations from the Master plan that were never implemented:
Grounds Improvements: Site improvements throughout the park to help support the overall park and amenities use and activities.
A “Legacy and Promise Promenade”: Creation of a pathway that integrates art and amenities that reflect the immense cultural diversity and rich history of the Central Area.
Why are we doing this project?
This is a community led project. The Garfield Super Block Coalition is a volunteer community group whose role it is to advocate for the project, honor the history of this site and ensure that the new community space is not just functional and safe, but unique and representative of the pride of the community.
Garfield Park is run down and tired. The walking path is not accessible all the way around the park; ADA ramps are not up to code or sufficient in number; the playground is not fully inclusive and accessible; the bathrooms are poorly designed and unsafe. For a park that is so heavily used, and for a neighborhood that is gentrifying so rapidly, set in the shadows of the recently renovated and historic Garfield and Nova High Schools, this park has an air of neglect and is sorely in need of an upgrade.
The high traffic of activities that occur on this site, which benefit the public already, demonstrates the vibrancy of Garfield Super Block. The improvements that the GSB project wishes to implement will only strengthen the programs, the community resources, and the pride of the park users at this historic site.
What’s the Plan?
Informed by community input, the overall design plan seeks to improve all aspects of the existing structures and amenities at the park that surround the ball fields, including a proper loop path around the ball fields, with obstructions removed and ADA compliance implemented, new site furnishings, inclusive play equipment, the first parkour installation in King County, safety upgrades, and a new restroom facility.
There is also a significant public arts portion of the project, composed of the Legacy and Promise Promenade and several smaller artworks.
The plan has been conditionally approved by Seattle Parks and Recreation and we are moving ahead with technical documents and engineering.
Today we are sharing the whole site plan, but please stay tuned for more detailed descriptions about the individual parts of the design.
Please visit www.garfieldsuperblock.org for more information about the project. We welcome your feedback!
